Six years before the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon, Margot Robbie starred in an underrated film that has much more in common with Oppenheimer than it does with Barbie. Robbie’s best movies show that she’s been making interesting movies for a long time, although Barbie elevated her to a new level of stardom.

2023’s “Barbenheimer” craze emphasized the huge differences in tone, palette and genre between Christopher Nolan’s wartime biopic and Greta Gerwig’s playful comedy. It’s possible that this serendipitous release scheduling quirk helped boost both movies to their immense box office records, but the fact that they’re both great films with a broad appeal is the main reason.

Some people saw Barbie as silly and lightweight when compared to the cerebral, brooding Oppenheimer, and this dicH๏τomy gave each film a distinct personality ahead of its release. Ultimately, the truth was more nuanced than this, since Barbie has a lot to say. Still, Robbie’s own biopic is much more like Oppenheimer.

I, Tonya Gave Margot Robbie A Chance To Star In A Prestigious Biopic

Robbie Received An Oscar Nomination For Her Performance

Craig Gillespie’s I, Tonya shows that Margot Robbie can hold her own in a prestigious biopic. The story of controversial figure skater Tonya Harding’s life was Robbie’s own version of Oppenheimer, and it earned her an Oscar nomination among a slew of other awards.

I, Tonya is like any other big-screen biopic in the sense that the lead performance is a huge focus. Fortunately, Robbie is utterly captivating, and more than up to the task of carrying the narrative through its various twists and turns. She displays a raw emotionality that breathes new life into a story that will already be familiar to much of the audience.

While I, Tonya can be incredibly dramatic, it also has a streak of dark humor that runs throughout the narrative. The inept plot to injure Nancy Kerrigan often resembles a crime caper, and Paul Walter Hauser’s performance is especially hilarious. This adds another layer to the whole affair without making light of the crime.

I, Tonya And Oppenheimer Have A Lot In Common

Both Movies Examine Divisive American Subjects

Like Oppenheimer, I, Tonya isn’t exactly a traditional biopic. Both films use stylistic quirks to delve into the internal states of their characters, often imagining certain emotions that could never be known for certain. That’s not to say that either movie is unfaithful, but they both exercise some artistic license.

I, Tonya and Oppenheimer are also similar in the sense that they focus on controversial figures. There are countless biopics that tell the life story of universally beloved heroes, whether they’re artists, civil rights leaders, athletes or something else. I, Tonya is more interesting, because it tracks a former American hero’s fall from grace.

I, Tonya humanizes Tonya Harding and puts the criminal case that marred her legacy into fresh context. This reflects the way that Oppenheimer attempts to explain the man who built the nuclear bomb without absolving him of the consequences of his actions. Both movies take intelligent approaches to divisive subjects, leaving the audience to form their own opinions.